Hayden Panettiere's BF Brian Hickerson Denied Reduced Charges in DV Case Involving Her

Brian Hickerson suffered a legal setback just days before the death of his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Hayden Panettiere ... TMZ has confirmed.

A judge denied Hickerson\u2019s request to have his past felony domestic violence charges reduced to misdemeanors, as well as his request to expunge the convictions, according to court documents, obtained by TMZ.

The ruling came Thursday, August 13 ... just three days before Panettiere died at age 36. Hickerson pleaded no contest in April 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend following a string of incidents involving Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020. He had originally faced an eight-count criminal case.

The prosecution opposed Hickerson\u2019s latest requests during the August 13 hearing, and Judge Olivia Rosales ultimately denied the motions. The Los Angeles County District Attorney\u2019s Office confirmed the ruling to Page Six, who was the first to report this news.

Hickerson was sentenced in 2021 to 45 days in jail, of which he served 33, along with four years of probation, mandatory domestic violence classes and a five-year restraining order.

TMZ exclusively reported that Hayden and Brian recently got back together -- but they kept their rekindled romance to themselves in order to protect her career.

In May we caught up with Brian ... and he told us he still thought about marrying Hayden and hadn't lost hope they would one day find their way back to each other. While Brian eventually got his wish, Hayden didn't immediately sound too stoked on his hypothetical proposal.

Hayden was spotted in May at LAX and laughed off the idea of marrying her then ex-BF ... but it seems like the tables had turned leading up to her death.

As you know ... Hayden passed away Sunday in Greenville, SC after a friend called 911 at 1:51 PM suspecting the "Nashville" actress was in cardiac arrest as a result of an overdose -- Hayden was pronounced dead at 2:32 PM after medics performed "advanced cardiac life support."

It is unclear if Brian was who made the call or if a second patient was being treated -- 2 ambulances responded to the scene, but ultimately no one was wheeled out of the apartment and the ambulances left without a patient inside.

Hayden was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was taken away in a coroner's van.